1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ice-cube complete filling detector, and a refrigerator comprising the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ice-cube complete filling detector for an icemaker, which can increase a rotational angle of an ice-cube detection lever or lower a rotational center of the ice-cub detection lever so as to effectively detect a complete filling state of an ice-cube container containing ice cubes.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a typical refrigerator in which doors for freezing and refrigerating compartments are open.
Generally, as shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator includes a body 2 which comprises a freezing compartment F and a refrigerating compartment R partitioned by a barrier 1, and has a cooling cycle arrangement equipped therein to cool the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R. The freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R are open and/or closed by a freezing compartment door 4, and a refrigerating compartment door 6, both of which are connected to the body 2.
The cooling cycle arrangement comprises a compressor to compress a refrigerant of low temperature and low pressure to the refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure, and to discharge the refrigerant, a condenser to condense the refrigerant discharged from the compressor such that heat of the refrigerant is emitted to external air, an expansion unit to expand the refrigerant condensed through the condenser, and an evaporator to evaporate the expanded refrigerant with heat of air circulating from the freezing compartment F or the refrigerating compartment R.
Recently, the refrigerator further comprises an automatic ice making apparatus which produces ice cubes using cold air in the freezing compartment F, and dispenses the ice cubes to an outside thereof.
The automatic ice making apparatus includes an icemaker 8 positioned at an upper portion of the freezing compartment F to automatically freeze supplied water into ice cubes with cold air in the freezing compartment F, and an ice-cube container 9 disposed below the icemaker 8 within the freezing compartment F to contain the ice cubes separated from the icemaker 8, an ice-cube discharger 10 positioned in the freezing compartment door 4 such that the ice cubes can be taken from the ice-cube container 9 to the outside without opening the freezing compartment door 4, and an ice-cube chute 11 to guide the ice cubes from the ice-cube container 9 into the ice-cube discharger 10.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating conventional icemaker and ice-cube container, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an inner configuration of a controller for the conventional icemaker.
The icemaker 8 comprises an ice making tray 12 to contain water supplied thereto and then freeze the water into ice cubes I of a predetermined shape, a water feeding port 13 to feed water into the ice making tray 12, a heater to heat the ice making tray 12 in order to separate the ice cubes I from the ice making tray 12, a slider 14 provided therein to allow the ice cubes I separated from the ice making tray 12 to slide into the ice-cube container 9, an ejector 15 to scoop the ice cubes I from the ice making tray 12 to the slider 14, a controller to control operation of the heater, the ejector 15, etc., and a detector to detect whether the ice-cube container 9 is completely filled with the ice cubes I, which will hereinafter referred to as an “ice-cube complete filling detector.”
The ice making tray 12 has a substantially semi-cylindrical shape, and is formed therein with partitions 12b separated a predetermined distance from each other to allow the ice cubes I to be independently taken out therefrom.
The ejector 15 has a shaft 15a positioned along the center of the ice making tray 12, and a plurality of ejector pins 15b positioned at a lateral side of the shaft 15a to scoop the ice cubes I to the slider 14.
The controller 16 comprises a control panel 21 having various electronic components mounted thereon, a motor 24, a driving gear 25 connected to a shaft of the motor 24, and a driven gear 26 engaging with the driving gear 25 while being connected at a rotational shaft 26a thereof to the shaft 15a of the ejector 15.
The ice-cube complete filling detector comprises a cam 27 protruding from the rotational shaft 26a of the driven gear 26, a first arm lever 28 interlocked to the cam 27 to rotate, a second arm lever 29 slidably connected to the first arm lever 28, an ice-cube detection lever 30 connected to the second arm lever 28, a magnet 31 rotated synchronously with rotation of the second arm lever 28, and a hole-sensor 32 to detect a magnetic field of the magnet 31.
The ice-cube detection lever 30 has opposite ends rotatably coupled to opposite sides of the icemaker 8, and is bent outwardly from the icemaker 8.
The magnet 31 is positioned on an extension 30a of the ice-cube detection lever 30.
Detection for complete filling of the ice-cube container 9 with the ice cubes I is performed by the hole-sensor 32, which detects a magnetic field generated when a rotating position of the magnet 31 changes due to rotation of the ice-cube detection lever 30.
However, with the conventional ice-cube complete filling detector, when the ice cubes I are vertically stacked on a wall of the ice-cube container 9 for the reason, for example, that the ice-cube container 9 has a shallow volume, the ice-cube detection lever 30 is rotated in the range of about 90 degrees by the arm levers 1 and 2, and cannot detect the complete filling of the ice-cube container 9 with the ice cubes I, so that the ice cubes are continuously supplied to, and overflows the ice-cube container 9.